Chloe Noonan – Monster Hunter – 15 pages of the best fun you may have all year

Chloe Noonan is a monster hunter (duh) but it’s tough being one when you don’t have any powers and you have to bring your friend along with you. She’s not even that bothered about saving the world really, as running around gives her a stitch. It’s a tongue in cheek look at fantasy and puts the b-list character in the foreground. It’s less about hunting monsters and more about getting the bus.

This is what I love about comics. Marc Ellerby’s been sat on the sidelines for a long time now making his fabulous mini comics of love and penguins (not together – see the review here) and watching as his friends get big time gigs (yes Gillen and McKelvie – I’m looking at you). But here’s the book that should, if there’s any justice in the world, make Ellerby famous (well, okay, maybe not famous, but maybe get him a nice graphic novel series).

Chloe Noonan, Monster Hunter is just such a fantastic idea, done so very well, that I just can’t help but think that if he gets the right bit of luck with it he’ll have a huge hit on his hands. It might not have the emotional intensity of his Ellerbisms, but it does have heaps of Scott Pilgrim style goings on; young folks, funky dialogue, bit of weirdness and smart cartooning. Chloe is a monster hunter (no, not like Buffy). She’s English, doesn’t have any special powers and frankly thinks this monster hunting lark is rather getting in the way of playing in the band she sometimes plays in. Not that she really likes the band that much, but it beats running around the woods trying to capture all these stupid monsters. Worse still, she’s still finding her way around this monster hunter thing, so she makes little mistakes like letting her best friend in on the big secret as well. Ooops.

It’s a great start to what could become a great series. This 15 page intro mini comic isn’t any more than a fun introduction, a little action, a few character intros and some great lines. Ellerby’s art just keeps getting better and better with every page he delivers and Chloe Noonan is some of his best work yet; his line and detailing is much more refined than Ellerbisms (what do you expect though – Ellerbisms is a diary webcomic), as you’ll be able to see from the three page preview a little below. And it’s all wrapped up in that lovely full colour cover shown above. It’s rather a departure from the usual Ellerby comic and it’s nice to be able to say that he handles a longer story really well and the storytelling is just lovely.

Chloe Noonan might look like it’s an adventure series but Marc’s not going to let that get in the way of including some cracking funnies and his usual line in self-depreciation plus an uncanny ability to get some song lyrics in there (this issue has the Pixies – “Hey. I’ve Been Trying To Meet You” – shouted at a monster she’s been chasing and is about to hit with a stun bomb).

This is the first time we’ve seen the character that Marc’s been going on about for ages. This is just a 15 page mini comic, but it’s just a taster for the proposed graphic novel series he has in mind. I know the comics biz is going through the same crap the world is going through at the moment but someone out there really needs to give Marc the money to make this a big, big series. It deserves to be a monster hit. I gave it to Molly to have a look at – figuring a monster hunting girl would be just up her alley and she decided it was very cool. That’s the 9 year old girl market sewn up right there.

Okay, now you’ve read the first 3 for free, head over to Marc’s website to buy one for yourself. Hell, buy two or three and give them out as presents. And if you do happen to be a big time publisher type reading this – I’d like a Chloe Noonan Volume 1: the graphic novel for Christmas please.

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About The Author

Richard Bruton- Started in comics retail aged 16 at Nostalgia & Comics, Birmingham. Now located in Yorkshire, he's written for the Forbidden Planet International Blog since 2007. Specialising in UK Comics and All-Ages comics, Richard's day job in a primary school allowed him to build the best children's graphic novel library in the country.